Shamatha Retreat with B. Alan Wallace Organized by Vajrayana Institute (www.vajrayana.com.au)
Dates & Times: 27 March - 2 April 2012 Venue: St Joseph's Centre for Reflective Living, Baulkham Hills NSW
Few things affect our lives more than our faculty of attention. If we can't focus our attention â due to either agitation or dullness â we can't do anything well. We can't study, listen, converse with others, work, play or even sleep well when our attention is impaired. Clearly, if we were to enhance our faculty of attention, our lives would improve dramatically. During this week-long retreat, B. Alan Wallace will explore in theory and practice a range of methods for developing meditative quiescence, or shamatha. This is an opportunity to gain the skills to take your meditation practice to another level and to reap the benefits of a more concentrated mind.
Wallace will teach a range of techniques for developing concentration including the practice of mindfulness of breathing which is an especially effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind, as well as more advanced techniques for "settling the mind in its natural state". Instruction will also be offered in the meditative practices of the "Four Immeasurables"âloving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimityâwhich wonderfully complement training in shamatha. It is not necessary to be a Buddhist to practice shamatha.Whatever your spiritual path, you will benefit from the development of a more concentrated mind.
About the Retreat Leader Dynamic lecturer, progressive scholar, and one of the most prolific writers and translators of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, B. Alan Wallace, Ph.D., continually seeks innovative ways to integrate Buddhist contemplative practices with Western science to advance the study of the mind.
Dr. Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism since 1970, has taught Buddhist theory and meditation worldwide since 1976. Having devoted fourteen years to training as a Tibetan Buddhist monk, ordained by H. H. the Dalai Lama, he went on to earn an undergraduate degree in physics and the philosophy of science at Amherst College and a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford.
With his unique background, Alan brings deep experience and applied skills to the challenge of integrating traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with the modern world.
Note: Except for Day 1, session 1 & 2 are the morning session (meditation and lecture), session 3 & 4 are the afternoon session (meditation and lecture), and session 5 is the evening session (silent meditation and Q&A).